Composition for preserving fabrics



.. IJNHE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE S. PAGE, OF STANLEY, NEW JERSEY.

COMPOSITION FOR PRESERVING FABRICS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 246,335, dated August 30, 1881.

Application filed March 29, 1880. (Specimens) protecting textile fabrics, feathers, and furs,

from moths, mildew, vermin, and water, and paper, cutlery, hardware, and all other goods subyect to damage by moisture or water; and I hereby declare that thetollowingis afull,clear,

and exact description of the mode of manufacturingthc same,which willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

I am aware that carbolic acid and coal-tar or bitumen have been used to accomplish the results hereinafter stated; but it is obvious that for many purposes it will be far preferable to treat fabrics with a composition consisting of paraftine and naphthaline, and as hereinafter stated. For instance, the odor of the coal-tar and bitumen is offensive. Fabrics treated with these latter ingredients have a tendency to soil articles with which they come in contact; hence it is necessary to employ a wrapping-paper for protection, adding greatly to the cost of packing merchandise.

The object of my invention is to avoid these difficulties by so combining naphthaline with 0 another substance as to render this odor less offensive, and to manufacture, treat, or prepare paper, cloth, or other fabrics so that they can be used as wrapping-papers and yet not soil the articles wrapped in them, and which 5 will preserve articles for a great length of time from moth, mildew, vermin, and water.

My invention relates to the composition consisting of substances for the purpose of securing in a single body a moth, mildew, vermin,

40 and water proof compound, and the saturation of cloth, paper, or other fabric with the same.

To carry my invention into effect I take parafiine-wax and melt it, adding to five (5) to ten (1.0) parts of the liquid paraffine ninety (90) to ninety-five (95) parts of naphthaline; but I do not, however, limit myself to these proportions. I then immerse the cloth, paper, or other fabric in this liquid, using any suitable mechanical contrivance or appliance for saturating and drying it. I can, also, first saturate the fabric in paraffine and then in naphthaline, or vice versa. The result is a clear pliable fabric, which can readily be handled Without producing a caustic effect on the skin, and which will not soil delicate goods, nor is it objectionable on account of its odor, and which possesses other obvious advantages.

I also use, when desirable, in the treatment of fine papers or fabrics with the materials above named a slight admixture of one or more of the essential oils, such as winter-green or mirbane, for the purpose of imparting a fragrance to the paper or fabric so saturated. Paraffine is the best medium for retaining for a long time the antiseptic and disinfecting properties of naphthaline, hence its special adaptation for the purposes above mentioned.

This treated cloth, paper, or other fabric can be used to greater advantage than almostany other contrivance as a lining for bales, boxes, cases, trunks, closets, or storage apartments, and woolens, feathers, and furs can thus be perfectly protected from injury by moths, insects, or vermin. Oottons, cutlery, hardware, paper, and all articles liable to be damaged by exposure to steam or water are rendered absolutely safe.

I may modify the paraffine at any stage of its use by mixing the same with any ingredient for diluting, stiffening, or otherwise favorably affecting the same for the usesindicated; I may apply the samein any ofthe many waysin which the same is obviously applicable, and I may apply the same to any required thickness. I may apply the paraffiue in combination with any equivalent of naphthaline.

WVhilc I prefer the composition consisting of paraffine with naphthaline in the proportions first above indicated, and by the means heretofore described, and in the sequence stated, for the purpose of creating a moth, mildew, vermin, and water proof compound, I may omit any one or more of the details of the same, adhering only to the composition consisting of naphthaline and paraffine for effecting the complete protection claimed.

I do not broadly claim the application of naphthaline as ameans of preventing the ravages of moths and other insects, as this has 1 naphthaline and paraffine, substantially as set been known for some time; nor do I claim the forth. 10 use of paraffine as a Waterproofing agent, for 2. As a new article of mannfaeture, a fabric this, too, is old; but saturated with naphthaline and parafline.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Let- GEORGE SHEPARD PAGE. ters Patent, is-- Witnesses:

1. A compound for rendering fabrics moth, EDWD. M. ATKINSON,

mildew, water, and vermin proof consisting of J JoWIT'r. 

